The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a protocol conversion system for providing for communications between information handling systems operating according to different communications protocols.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
IHSs such as, for example, Ethernet IHSs, include the ability to transmit and receive Ethernet protocol communications via transceivers such as Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) transceivers, enhanced Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP+) transceivers, 10 Gigabit Small Form-factor Pluggable (XFP) transceivers, and/or Quad (4-channel) Small Form-factor Pluggable (QSFP or QSFP+) transceivers. In some situations, users may wish to use those Ethernet IHSs to communicate with Fibre Channel IHSs. In order to do so, those users must purchase converged switch IHSs that support multiple communication protocols (e.g., Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)), and those converged switch IHSs are very costly.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved system for providing communication between Ethernet IHSs and Fibre Channel IHSs.